Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Panaghia Soumela

20. August 2013 - 12:15

On Thursday, August 15, 2013, His All-Holiness celebrated the great feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos at the historic monastery of Panaghia Soumela in Trabzon. This is the fourth consecutive year that His All-Holiness has led an annual pilgrimage to the historical monastery since its closure nine decades ago. The monastery was founded in 386 and functioned without interruption until 1923. Among those in attendance were Bishops Seraphim of Apollonias (from Australia) and Theodosios of Brovary (from Ukraine), Armenian Archbishop Aram Atesian, clergy of the Patriarchal Court and hundreds of pilgrims from around the world.